Erie cyclist pushes for singletrack trail in town

Adam Haid, shown Thursday in Erie, created eriesingletrack.com to get the word out about the town's potential to serve as a mecca for cyclists in eastern Boulder County.
(
Jeremy Papasso
)

It's just the germ of an idea, but already it has gathered more than two dozen supportive comments on eriesingletrack.com. That's in addition to 600 hits and 200 unique page views.

And the website -- promoting the construction of a singletrack trail and pump track along Coal Creek near Vista Pointe -- has only been in existence since Sunday.

"We want to test the interest in the community," said Adam Haid, an avid cyclist and an Erie resident for nearly a decade. "How many people will help us build it; how many people will use it?"

Haid, who rides for the Trek Colorado Race Team, created eriesingletrack.com to get the word out about the town's potential to serve as a mecca for cyclists in eastern Boulder County. With an already established network of paved pedestrian and bike trails throughout town -- and the nearly completed Coal Creek Trail connection opening up a 27-mile route to Superior -- Haid said a singletrack trail could be the perfect amenity for Erie's active residents.

"The hope is to one day build an entire network of trails in Erie to connect all the neighborhoods out there and provide a playground at the end of Coal Creek Trail," the 37-year-old father of two said.

Advertisement

But for now, Haid is starting small. His proposal includes scratching out a half-mile singletrack trail through town open space on the west side of Coal Creek, from Vista Parkway to Bonnell Avenue. It also makes room for a small pump track and possible mountain biking skills features, like wooden bridges and obstacles.

Haid has met with the Erie Open Space and Trails Advisory Board and spoken to the town trustees about his idea.

Hank Pantier, an Erie cyclist who said he is more than willing to pitch in to build the trail, said a singletrack would allow residents like him to not have to make the drive to Boulder or Lyons to go mountain biking. And the trail would fit in with a town that has put an emphasis on building and encouraging athletic facilities, whether it's the velodrome going up on County Line Road, the new Street League-certified skate park or the state-of-the-art recreation center in the middle of town.

Erie Trustee Mark Gruber, a regular road cyclist, likes Haid's concept but isn't as sold on the proposed location.

"Coal Creek is our prime riparian habitat," he said. "We've got bald eagles, hawks, snapping turtles and beavers. If you put a bike track there, you would lose the wildlife."

But Gruber said there are other possible locations, including the 51-acre Sunset Open Space parcel the town purchased earlier this year just north of the closed Denver Landfill, at the northwest corner of Weld County Road 5 and Weld County Road 6.

"It's got good rolling terrain, and it could be great for a singletrack," he said.

The trustee said constructing a separate singletrack trail network won't be an easy feat, given issues of land ownership and easements across private property. More likely, he said, a network would have to parallel the town's existing paved or graded 33-mile trail network.

Jill Wait, Erie's director of parks and recreation, said it's way too early to determine the best location for a singletrack trail in town, but she said Haid's timing is right on.

"We're about to put out our survey for the Parks, Recreation, Open Space and Trails master plan update, and we can find out if the community wants this kind of amenity," she said.

The survey is scheduled to go out to residents in the next month or so. In the meantime, Wait said the town appreciates people who take the time and effort to try to put into place ambitious plans.

"You have to appreciate the volunteer spirit behind what he's trying to do," she said.

Article Comments

We reserve the right to remove any comment that violates our ground rules, is spammy, NSFW, defamatory, rude, reckless to the community, etc.

We expect everyone to be respectful of other commenters. It's fine to have differences of opinion, but there's no need to act like a jerk.

Use your own words (don't copy and paste from elsewhere), be honest and don't pretend to be someone (or something) you're not.

Our commenting section is self-policing, so if you see a comment that violates our ground rules, flag it (mouse over to the far right of the commenter's name until you see the flag symbol and click that), then we'll review it.

Boulder is pretty good at producing rock bands, and by "rock," we mean the in-your-face, guitar-heavy, leather-clad variety — you know, the good kind. For a prime example, look no farther than BANDITS. Full Story